THREE psychiatrists testified in the Central Criminal Court in Dublin yesterday that a man accused of the murder of a 13-year-old schoolgirl suffered from paranoid schizophrenic delusions.
They were giving evidence on the third day of the trial of Mr Patrick Granaghan (36), of Drumacrin Road, Bundoran, Co Donegal, who has pleaded not guilty to the murder of the girl in the town on April 14th, 1996.
Dr Lorcan Martin said he had assessed the defendant at the Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum when he was under his care between April and December 1996.
He said that Mr Granaghan had described to him his belief that the devil had told him he would get 12 minutes off the torment of hell by killing the girl. Mr Granaghan also believed that his brother-in-law had hypnotised him in 1984, using black magic. The defendant had continued to exhibit persistent delusions during his period in Dundrum.
Dr Martin said he had no information about Mr Granaghan's mental state at the time of the killing, but his history suggested he had suffered from this condition for some time. He believed the general behaviour and demeanour of Mr Granaghan would have been "very difficult to fake".
Dr Charles Smith, director of the Central Mental Hospital, said that, in his opinion, the offence had been driven by the illness, which was paranoid schizophrenia. "There really is no other explanation in this case, to my mind, for this cruel, sadistic killing of the child", he told the jury.
Dr Damien Mohan told the court that Mr Granaghan suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. He had been acting under persecutory delusions at the time of the killing.
The case continues today before Mr Justice Carney and a jury.